Rapture Revisited
by RedRancor
Summary: A group of scientists rediscover Rapture well after the events of "Bioshock 2". It seems like a great discovery until they find themselves stranded and separated in a devastated city of violence and horror. This story may continue based on response.
1. Chapter 1

Rapture Revisited

In the North Atlantic somewhere between Greenland and Iceland the scientific research vessel "Triton's Favor" prepares to launch a manned mission into the depths of the Atlantic. The mission is led by a man who goes by the name Dr. James Enwood. The doctor paces on the deck with a satellite phone in hand while crew members rush past him checking lines and running equipment. "But you can't cut our budget now! The sub is literally about to touch the water!" Dr. Enwood paused to hear the man on the other end, "I understand it seems crazy but there's… Eleanor Lamb might be a little senile but she seems pretty… Look in 1950 a man named Andrew… mm-hmm… Five days aren't even close to enough if the first dive doesn't pan out!" The voice on the other end cut out with a click. Dr. Enwood responded with a fit of rage befitting a child who just had their TV privileges revoked.

As James corrected his glasses the ship's captain approached, "What'd NURP have to say there Jim?" James' head dropped with a heavy sigh, "Their budgets been cut again so they're taking it out of our pockets… We have to come up with something conclusive." James put his hands on the railing and watched as the five man submersible was lowered into the water. "I think we'll only have enough for this one trip out here. We're to return to Reykjavik in five days." The captain toyed with his beard as he pondered, "You know we have enough fuel for a sixth dive, maybe two in one day?" James put on a weak smile as he turned and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Thanks for the optimism, but we both know that won't happen, but," he turned back out towards the ocean, "if my research is right we'll find it on the first go." "You really think it's down there? You really think you'll be the man to find Atlantis?" James shook his head, "Rapture, the old lady kept calling it Rapture."

Chapter 1

Dr. Enwood stood at the top of the rope ladder with a checklist as the supplies were loaded into the sub. The crew, under the captain's orders, was doing their best to load as quickly as possible, but James would wish that they would just be thorough. "We can't have anything missing if we find this place, so please be careful and double-check everything." One of the crew members just grumbled something about where he might want to shove that clipboard. James was starting to get anxious as he had accounted for most of his team with one exception, Jordan, the sub's pilot. Dr. Blair Swanson, a marine biologist in her mid fifties, and her young assistant Keira, were on the deck looking over equipment. The middle-aged maritime engineer, Arlow Gunne, was already familiarizing himself with the sub. Jordan on the other hand was yet to be seen.

Jordan was a young man with enough naval experience to put a much older man to shame. He was experienced in almost any vessel out there but he was not so experienced with rum. That didn't stop him from drinking like an old seadog the night before. Half of Jordan's body hung off his bed, while the other half; including his head, were buried under the sheets when someone started banging on his cabin's door. The banging was like dynamite in his hung over mind. He tried to speak, but the words failed to escape his parched mouth. BANG! BANG! BANG! The captain was furiously knocking, "Jordan! Get your ass on the deck now! You're due to pilot that sardine can to the floor!" Jordan's head popped out from under the sheets, "Are we there already!?"

James breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the captain on Jordan's heels bringing the young pilot onto the deck. James glanced over his checklist, "Looks like it's all there. Jordan, get in there and check out the systems. If it checks out we're good to go." Jordan was in the midst of pulling on a naval sweater when he muttered some kind of reply.

The whole team was waiting in the sub as Jordan performed the last of his checks. He leaned back to Dr. Enwood, "Looks like this is happenin' there doc. All systems green." Despite his excitement James' palm made its way to his face, "I told you to never call me that. Blair's a doctor too. We can't have two 'docs' around here. It'll just get confusing." Jordan flipped a few switches which opened the ballasts, and paid no attention to Dr. Enwood, "Whatever you say doc."

Keira rubbed her ears repeatedly as she was the only one not really used to the pressurized nature of a submarine. The rest of the team had a great deal of experience in diving but this would be Keira's first time going beyond 1000 meters. James saw Keira's discomfort and tried to take her mind off it, "Right so the plan is to reach the floor at around 2500 to 3000 meters. From there we'll crawl till we reach the ridge…" James was cut off by Jordan making an intentional cough, "How about we follow that big dark tower sticking up over there?" James' eye's rolled at the absurd possibility, but came up to the front window just to humor Jordan. His jaw dropped at what was before him.

It looked like a tower of concrete rising towards the surface of the ocean but it stopped almost 1000 meters down. It appeared as though the top had broken off the structure. "Yeah, maybe follow that down." James' excitement was contained in pure disbelief. "Well that was easy." Arlow came to the window and patted James on the shoulder, "Don't suppose we could get that funding now?" James put on a grin but he was not the most optimistic of individuals, "Yeah, but I don't think a tall rock is…" Once again James' astonishment took the words from his mouth.

The sub had reached around 2500 meters below and just climbed over a ridge when the base of the tall structure came into view. This time it was Arlow's jaw that dropped. Surrounding the towering structure was a city skyline more impressive than New York's. There were a few dome like structures all lit up from the inside and massive skyscrapers towered off the ocean's floor. The buildings were all connected by glass tubes, some running on the ground others half way up the towers. A large part of the city appeared dead; some buildings had even fallen, while other parts appeared to have running power. The more distant towers in the city were lit up, and there appeared to be flickering neon lights scattered about.

Everyone stood with their mouths agape at the sight. James was the first to break the silence, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Rapture."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Bring it in nice and low, but don't go under any of those tubes. They don't look structurally sound." Arlow was playing co-pilot to Jordan, while everyone else just watched out the numerous portholes in the ship as it worked its way through the city. Keira had a digital camera rolling whatever footage she could get. Dr. Swanson sat next to Dr. Enwood as they discussed possibilities. James kept discussing his research while Blair carried on about who or what could live in a city like this. "I assumed Andrew Ryan was trying to excavate something out here! I never imagined he could have built something, while nothing like this, a bio-dome maybe but this, this is just too crazy!" Blair was about to reply to him about people's possible diets when Keira chimed up, "Something moved in that building!" She pointed out a porthole opposite James and Blair. They both jumped to the other side causing the sub to jostle a little. Jordan let out an annoyed "Hey!" as he corrected the subs position.

They were gazing into one of the dead towers. Many windows had been smashed and a lot of the inside appeared unrecognizable as fish swam in and out of the structure. Blair peered out the same porthole as James, causing him to get a whiff of her silvery hair. An incident that he took pleasure in but it had caught Blair's attention briefly. James quickly changed the subject before anything could be said, "Ahem, umm… I'm sure it was just some fish or something." Blair put on a little grin as James' embarrassment was clear. Keira interrupted the moment the two doctors were sharing, "No… It kind of looked like a man in an old diving suit." Blair looked quizzically at her, "Perhaps an empty suit, surely no human could stand the pressure out there in just a suit."

"I got it on tape if you don't believe me," Keira began to play with the camera to rewind it but she was interrupted by a blast that caused the sub to shake. "Holy Shit!" Jordan yelled from the front. James ran up and asked Arlow, "What the hell was that?!" Arlow pointed ahead towards one of the lit buildings, "I think something shot at…" Before Arlow could finish his sentence another object flew at the sub. It bounced off the side before exploding nearby. Arlow looked puzzled, "Was that a riveting bolt?!" Another one bounced off the window before detonating and sending a crack up the glass. "Okay, that was definitely a rivet!"

"Who gives a fuck what it is!? It's gonna fucking kill us! We gotta get outta here!" Jordan took panicked action and cranked the sub into full speed. As he drove the sub forward the pressure from the ocean began to take its toll on the crack. It was beginning to travel up the window. Keira clutched her knees and started screaming in the back of the sub. Blair tried to hold her and calm her down. Another rivet blew up in front of the sub. The blast caused James to fall back hard on the floor. He was knocked unconscious as blood slowly leaked from his head. "Oh, god!" Blair screamed as she held Keira's head down so she wouldn't see.

Jordan had a firm grip on the controls but he had no direction till Arlow spoke up, "Docking bay! Docking bay! Docking bay!" he kept yelling as he pointed down to the left. Jordan saw what Arlow was talking about. It looked like a garage that went under one of the buildings. He pushed the controls forward causing the sub to dive towards the ocean floor. Another blast came from behind but it didn't shake Jordan's resolve. He pulled up hard to have the sub rise on the other side of the opening.

The sub leapt from the water and crashed nose end first onto hard ground. It slid into a giant arched steel bulkhead. The glass on the front shattered causing small shards to fly at Arlow and Jordan. Both managed to cover their faces from the acrylic hailstorm. Silence followed the crash.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jordan woke moments after the crash to a dull ringing in his ears. Arlow was tinkering with the com system, "Come in 'Triton's Favor'. This is an SOS. Come in surface. Is anyone reading this dammit!?" He slammed the palm sized microphone on what remained of the dash. "Nothing seems to be working." Jordan rubbed his head as he turned to look towards the back of the sub. An unconscious Dr. Enwood's head was resting in Dr. Swanson's lap as she held a bandage to his wound. Keira just sat in the corner holding her legs and rocking back and forth.

Jordan, still rubbing his head, walked to the back of the sub. It tilted ever so slightly as the weight shifted. He knelt in front of Keira and placed his hands on her knees. "It's okay. It's okay. I took care of it, we're safe now." Keira replied to him with a shake of her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "No, No, No," she said, "Someone tried to kill us… They might be coming for us." Arlow turned towards the team, "She's right. We gotta grab what we can and move far away from this wreck." Jordan replied with a stern nod. Blair just looked down at James as his breathing seemed to become more labored.

After much debate between Arlow and Blair it was decided that it was best to try to move James, despite his head injuries. Jordan helped Arlow piece together a make shift gurney from a couple of long pipes and the fabric from the subs seats. James' head was wrapped in a secure bandage by Dr. Swanson while Keira gathered anything in the sub that might be useful. Although she didn't seem to function to well with her eyes glazed over from tears, Keira managed to scrounge up the first-aid kit, two flash lights, and a small plastic case which contained emergency ration packs. As Blair and Arlow lifted James out of the sub, Jordan looked back one last time into the wreck. Something caught his eye. He reached under one of the back seats and took the case containing the flare gun.

The crew stepped out into their surroundings for the first time. Behind the wreck of the sub was a pool of water large enough for a much larger sub to surface. The room had an arched ceiling made of concrete that went over ten meters high at its crown. Opposite the pool of water was an enormous arched window consisting of a dozen panes of glass. Above the window was an engraving that read, "Neptune's Bounty: Dock 7". The only entrance in and out of the room appeared to be the large bulkhead that the sub had crashed into. The bulkhead itself appeared to be made of extremely thick steel and had engravings that had long since faded.

Arlow was in awe as he spun around examining the room. "This is amazing," he said, "To think they built it not only to withstand the pressure of the ocean at this depth but pressurized so perfectly to hold a surfacing bay!" "Ya, Ya," Jordan was not amused, "That's just groovy but do you think you know a way out?" Arlow scratched his chin as he studied the bulkhead, "I don't know. Doesn't seem to be any wheel's to turn and unlock it." His thoughts were interrupted by Keira, "What about this?" Before anyone could respond she pushed a green button that she found under some rubble. A sudden stir of machine sounds kicked in causing a low grinding and scraping noise to fill the room. The bulk head started to lift until after a large metal on metal BANG sounded. The bulkhead seized to a stop leaving only a foot and a half opening.

Blair was the last to crawl through the opening. She found the rest of the team standing in wait surveying the area. A neon sign that read "Neptune's Bounty" flickered and died in the distance. There were faint lights flickering on the ceiling that lit the massive room. The room itself was built on the ocean floor with a boardwalk that stood four feet up and wrapped around all sides. Various shacks had been built on the boardwalk and some stairs led to an upper level. On the far side of the room was another large bulkhead but it was already open. What lay beyond there could not be seen from this far. The team set out on the boardwalk towards the open bulkhead.

James stirred slightly, probably due to the bumping of the gurney as Arlow dragged it across the wooden planks. Jordan breathed a deep sigh of the dank air before saying, "How helpful, the one guy who knows anything about this is out like a vegetable." Jordan's comment caused Blair's face to turn red with anger, "Watch your tongue you little shit! He's going to pull through." Jordan replied with a hint of guilt, "Sorry, grandma. Let's hope so." Arlow tried to change the subject, "All in all we're really quite lucky. To even see a place like this exists." Jordan gave him a sideways glance, "Lucky? Are you for real?"

They reached the other side of the room and stood in the opening of another large bulkhead. The area was covered in metal grating and steel staircases lead in all sorts of directions. There were packing grates scattered about, all of which appeared to have been looted at one point or another. The lights flickered before going out briefly only to flash back on a moment later. Arlow observed that, "Whatever's keeping power in this place, it isn't doing a very good job. If the lights go out, we might be in very big trouble. I don't imagine there's much natural light 2500 meters below the surface."

After Jordan and Arlow lifted James up a flight of stairs the crew made their way down a long metal walled corridor. The hallway itself was dark but ahead was what appeared to be an office. A ceiling light appeared to be swinging inside. Suddenly the team heard a muttered scratchy voice, "The itch… the itch…" was all they could make out. Arlow looked to Jordan who just shook his head. Arlow decided to stay on the side of caution and turned to the girls with his index finger over his lips. He set the gurney down slowly and then made his way towards the office door way. Jordan followed slowly.

"The itch… Just won't come out… The itch… ADAM! ADAM! Where are you!?" The ravings of a madman seemed to be emanating from the office as the two approached. Arlow was the first to reach the doorway and slowly peek inside. His eyes went wide with traumatized fear. Standing in the back corner of the office was what appeared to be a man. He was mostly nude and his body and face appeared twisted in a terrible way. Arlow could only make out one eye, as the man's back was turned towards the doorway. The one eye was lidless and it watched as the lunatic scratched his own back repeatedly with what appeared to be a giant fish-hook. When Arlow saw that it appeared the man's hand had fused to the hook he turned away and pressed his hand to his mouth to stifle himself from screaming.

"What is it?" Jordan whispered before trying to take a look for himself. Arlow tried to stop him from looking but it was too late. At the sight Jordan burst out, "HOLY FUCK!" The lunatic's head shot up, "SCRATCH IT! SCRATCH IT!" The madman screamed as he turned to give chase after Arlow and Jordan.

They turned to the ladies and together they yelled, "RUN!" Blair looked at them curiously until she saw the monster that was after them. She tried to lift James but he was too much for her to lift alone. Keira had already made her way halfway down the stairs. Jordan when he reached James saw the case with the flare gun sitting where he had left it. Instead of helping Blair and Arlow try to lift the gurney Jordan decided to snap open the case. The madman was running full-bore towards them while Jordan struggled to load a flare into the gun. "What are you doing?!" Blair yelled as she strained to lift the foot end of the gurney.

"Itchy. Scratch, SCRATCH!" The menace continued to scream just as Jordan loaded the gun and leveled it on his target. Before he could pull the trigger the monsters toe suddenly got caught in a hole in the grate. He fell forward and in trying to catch himself his hook went clean through his head. "No… Itch…" he muttered before his body shut down. Jordan, still pointing the gun, stood in shock as did the other two. Blair was the first to realize, "Keira's gone!"

"Keira!" Dr. Swanson yelled as she ran down the stairs. Looking around desperately she could see no sign or trace of where Keira might have ran. There were stairs going to different levels in all directions and the bulkhead which led back to the boardwalk. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, "Where did you go girl? Keira!" Arlow stood at the top of the stairs, "Blair," he called to her, "You might want to take a look at this thing." She hesitated, "But Keira ran off…" Arlow replied, "She'll come back when she sees we aren't with her. No sense getting lost looking for her." Blair hesitated for one more moment before returning to the others.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I'd say whatever made it look this way also twisted its mind." Blair was closely examining the body of the creature. "Funny how just a moment ago I was scared shitless of this thing and now… I'm absolutely perplexed. I think it was human at some point." She continued to ramble on as Arlow watched her work. Jordan was investigating the office at the end of the hall. "Hey! Look what I found!" he yelled from the end of the hall. Arlow looked up to see Jordan holding a gun.

Jordan held the gun as Arlow examined it. "It appears to be an old Colt Revolver but something's different…" Arlow pondered the differences but as he was unfamiliar with firearms the alterations didn't make sense to him. Jordan getting impatient with Arlow's examination flicked a tiny switch on the side of the gun causing an orange light to turn on near the firing chamber. "Whoa, this thing's digital!" Arlow just became more perplexed, "How much ammo did you find?" Jordan looked at him for a moment then replied, "I never actually looked." He handed the revolver to Arlow then proceeded to check draws and boxes in the office.

Arlow returned to Blair's side. She had moved from the dead body to the live one. She knelt next to James' head and was in the midst of checking his temperature, "He's getting hot, starting to run a fever. Arlow, we have to find him some help." Arlow nodded, and then turned towards the office, "Jordan! Let's go." Jordan dashed out of the office holding a handful of bullets. The casings of the bullets were painted in a variety of colors. Jordan tried to show them to Arlow but he showed little interest. Jordan shrugged then pocketed the bullets before helping Arlow lift the gurney down the stairs.

Once the team reached the bottom of the stairs the question of Keira came up. "What are we going to do? We can't wait for her here. We have to find medicine for James." Arlow pointed out and continued, "I think our best bet is heading towards the side of the city that had more lights. If we're lucky Keira headed that way as well." Blair considered what he was saying then replied, "Well that leaves two sets of stairs going in that direction." Jordan chimed in at this point, "Why don't you guys take the stairs on the left, I'll check out the ones on the right. If I don't find Keira in ten minutes I'll run to catch up to you two. I'm sure you won't be moving too fast carrying doc." Blair and Arlow looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

After three minutes alone it occurred to Jordan that the pressure of the ocean caused some ominous sounds as the building creaked and groaned. He was walking down another hallway with metal on all sides and numerous pipes occasionally blowing steam. His shoes made the grating create some light ringing sounds with each step. Afraid of what kind of lunatics might be out there, Jordan attempted to lighten his footsteps. As he approached what looked like a junction up ahead a girl suddenly ran across his field of vision. At first he thought it might be Keira and he almost called out to her until he realized the girl was far too young.

Jordan picked up his pace to catch up to the little girl but when he rounded the corner she was nowhere to be seen. The corridor opened up into a large warehouse that reeked of rotten fish. Crates stacked up ten high were placed all along the walls. Each crate had an image of a fish on it which leads Jordan to believe the obvious. This was made even more evident as one crate looked as though it had been knocked over and rotten fish had spilled out on the floor. Some of the fish still sliding told Jordan this accident had just occurred.

After approaching the fallen crate Jordan could hear a little girl weeping. It wasn't long before he found her curled up between two crates with her back pressed against the wall and her face buried in her knees. Jordan wasn't used to dealing with kids, "Hey. Are you okay?" The little girl didn't reply. She just continued lightly weeping into her knees. He decided to reach a hand out to her but before it got to close her head shot up and she shrieked, "Don't touch me! You're not my daddy!" Jordan fell back on his rear, more from the shock of the image of her face than the sound of her voice.

Her skin was pale, her veins visibly green and her eyes glowed yellow. Jordan's mouth tries to sputter something to say but fails. The girl continued to speak, "I want my daddy. What did they do to Mr. Bubbles?!" She stared at Jordan, her yellow eyes in tears, while he just sat there in shock. Finally after a moment he got up the nerve to ask, "Mr. Bubbles?" Before anything resembling a conversation could begin the little girl looked past Jordan and suddenly screamed, "The buzzy man! The buzzy man! Don't let him sting me!" Jordan was about to ask what she meant when a bee landed on his neck.

Jordan slapped the bee shortly after it stung then he heard it; a low buzzing sound and a set of footsteps coming up behind him. He spun himself and leapt to his feet only to see a man covered from head to toe in a swarm of bees. Jordan took only a moment to see that the man had no eyes, just what appeared to be honeycombs inside his eye sockets, and the man's mouth was left wide as bee after bee flew in and out. Even the man's skin seemed to serve as a hive for the swarm that hovered around him.

In a panic Jordan felt around his pockets for the revolver he remembered holding in his hands. He cursed himself silently as he remembered Arlow had the weapon, but then it occurred to him that he still had the loaded flare gun in his waistband. The "Buzzy Man" pulled up his arm and pointed in Jordan's direction when the swarm of bees begun to amass around the man's arm like a tornado waiting to be cast out. Jordan reached back for the flare gun and without proper aim or a second thought he fired the flare into the man's chest.

At such a close range the flare managed to bury itself into "Buzzy Man's" ribcage. The room was filled with a red blast of light from which Jordan had to shield his eyes. Before the flare burned out the man went up in flames. The fire spread throughout his body catching many of the bees in the process. He threw his head back and let out a terrible scream that had a wild vibration to it. He fell backwards and burned to ash as his screams died. When the silence fell, Jordan slowly peeked through his fingers to see that the worst was over.

"Thanks Mister!" The little girl was positively brimming with excitement. A bee landed on Jordan's shoulder and he smacked it before it had a chance to sting, "No problem kiddo." At that moment Jordan stood proud. He turned to the little girl and knelt down to be eye to yellow eye with her. She wore a grin when he asked, "Are you still afraid?" she shook her head. "Do you think you can help me?" she shrugged as she swayed slightly with her arms behind her back. Jordan tried to speak simply, "I'm trying to find a friend. A girl, she's a lot taller than you are." "Is she an angel?" the little girl inquired. Jordan recalled how attractive he found Keira than replied with a slight smile, "I suppose you could call her that."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Arlow, it's been fifteen minutes. Do you think he's trying to catch up now?" Blair showed serious concern. Arlow gently set down the gurney with Dr. Enwood then wiped his brow of sweat before replying, "We can wait a few minutes, besides I really could use a break. I think James has had a few too many carbs in this past week." Blair responded with a slight chuckle but the sign of happiness was brief as she was overcome with stress. She bent forward and took a deep breath as she ran her hands over her face and pulled her hair back only to let it fall again.

The two leaned against the wall of the corridor with James lying down before them. "Do you think we screwed up? Splitting up I mean?" Blair looked to Arlow as she rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "Nah, Jordan is a tough guy, but don't you dare tell him I said that. That kind of thing goes straight to his head." He shook his finger at Blair, like a teacher trying to make a point, and then continued, "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't back just because he's not giving up on finding Keira." Blair responded with an optimistic nod, "Or… He got cocky and decided to swim to the surface." The two had another light chuckle before becoming silent. The only sound was that of Dr. Enwood's breathing becoming heavier.

Jordan was leading the way despite not knowing where he was going. He continuously had to turn towards the strange little girl and ask for directions, "Are we on the right track here kiddo?" The little girl replied with a grin and a full hearted, "Mm-hmm." Jordan couldn't help but grin a little, "You know you're kinda cute for a little weirdo squirt." The little girl didn't seem to like that name too much as she had a look like she had just eaten something sour.

They rounded another corner when the image of a body appeared before Jordan. He jumped back at first but then the little girl got excited and ran ahead. "The angel's here!" she said gleefully as she skipped her way towards the body. Jordan approached slowly as he examined his surroundings. The area was what appeared to be a fish market with wooden stands and a few shanties adorned with images of different fish. A few of the shacks even had menus with price listings. The far wall was entirely made of glass and it gazed out into the ocean. Jordan's eye was caught watching a large shark swim by. He watched the shark until he noticed out the corner of his eye that the little girl was bending down to pick up a very large needle.

Jordan sprinted a little to get closer to the girl, "Whoa, whoa. What are you doin'?" He asked once he got close. The little girl looked puzzled like it was the oddest question she'd ever been asked. "It's a sleeping angel. I look after them." She stated as she brandished the needle in her hand. Upon closer inspection the needle appeared quite peculiar to Jordan. It had a pistol grip small enough for a child and it looked like the bottle had a rubber nipple on it. The girl turned towards the body and knelt while saying, "Who looks after sleeping angels? I do… I do…" She raised the needle and plunged it into the body.

Jordan almost fell backwards as he saw the bottle fill with the blood from the body. The body itself was a woman's but the clothes weren't Keira's and the face was twisted like it had been molded from clay. Once the bottle was full the little girl pulled the needle from the body then began to drink from the rubber nipple at the top. Jordan turned and emptied his stomach on the boardwalk. The girl paid no attention to him when she licked her lips and said, "Mmm… ADAM is so yummy. It makes my tummy wriggle."

The little girl giggled as she plunged the needle into the body once more. Jordan wiped his mouth then turned to the little girl, "Stop it. Please, stop. Why are you doing this?" "I'm taking care of the angel," the little girl replied. Jordan started to feel confused and disoriented, "Why did you bring me here? Have you seen Keira?" He was beginning to panic. The little girl never turned from the body when she replied, "You said she was an angel. Here's the angel."

His panic was starting to overcome him as Jordan began to distance himself from the girl. "Um, okay… I think I'm gonna go now." He said while he took a few steps backwards. "You'll be okay now, Right? You got this… thing covered right?" He took a few more steps back but froze when the little girl replied without turning towards him, "Mr. Bubbles should be along soon! This is where the buzzy man chased him away. Daddy will find me. Daddy always finds me." Without another word Jordan turned and ran back the way he came.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Blair and Arlow had regained enough strength to lift the gurney once more and continued down the corridor. They were approaching a bulkhead much like the kind that'd be found on a typical military submarine. Arlow set James down gently then started to examine the door. It had a wheel that he turned to crack it open. It creaked lightly as he pushed it open but before he could step inside he heard sounds coming from the corridor. Blair gasped silently when she saw two shadows at the end of the hall coming their way.

Arlow was quick to lift the gurney and lead Blair into the room he had just opened. He closed the door behind them without locking it in fear of creating too much noise. Blair was relieved to discover it was a first aid room equipped much like a nurse's office with two desks and a cot. Her relief was short lived as the sounds in the hallway seemed to be approaching the doorway. Blair and Arlow quickly laid James down behind one desk then hid together behind the other. The single ceiling light glowed with amber like color that was interrupted by the white light from the hall as the bulkhead door was pushed open.

There were two people who stepped into the room. Arlow could see under the desk that one of them appeared to be wearing a pinstriped suit and some black and white dress shoes, while the other wore a long trench coat that seemed to be dragging on the ground. Blair could make out that they were speaking to each other in low hissing like voices. The one in the suit had a shaky male voice, "I just need a fix. A little EVE would even hold me for a bit. Just some EVE, that'd be good." The other had a female voice that stung the ear drums when she spoke, "EVE!? That's not good enough! I've been without ADAM for a week now." "Well you're not going to find any in here dear," the man replied.

Arlow was hopeful that with that observation the two might leave but it sounded as they were going to continue to scavenge the area. The male went on to say, "I know I left a stash of EVE here somewhere. Where is it? WHERE IS IT!?" His anger erupted without warning as he started to throw objects around the room. Blair looked to Arlow then pointed at the gun in his right pocket. Arlow checked the chamber and saw only a single bullet then his eyes widened when he remembered that the other bullets were with Jordan. Still he pulled the gun from his pocket and held it as he cocked the hammer. The cocking action made a light CLICK.

"What was that!?" the female shrieked. The pair turned towards the desk that Arlow and Blair were hiding behind. A couple more clicking sounds were heard as the man in the suit and the woman in the trench coat readied their weapons. Sweat ran down Arlow's brow as he started to shake. Blair sat curled up with her hands over her mouth. Arlow jumped up hoping to surprise the attackers while he yelled a battle cry at the top of his lungs, "AHHHH!" The woman in the trench coat actually stepped back and tripped over a fallen IV pole. Upon landing on her back her shotgun fired shooting the man in the suit and taking his head off. Blood blasted on the wall and splashed Blair in the process, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs.

The woman, still on her back, leveled her gun on Arlow. She screamed, "You son of a bitch made me kill Jeffy!" Before she could fire Arlow got off the first shot. The bullet hit its mark in the woman's chest but she seemed unfazed by the attack and fired her shotgun at Arlow. The buckshot ripped through his left side knocking him against the wall. It was then that Blair jumped from her hiding place screaming at the top of her lungs and jumped on top of the woman. Blair got both her hands on the shotgun and the two women struggled for control.

Just then Jordan came to the doorway. Once he made sense of the madness in front of him he stepped into the room and started laying his boot into the crazed woman's face. Again and again he kicked her while Blair continued to try to rip the shotgun from her hands. The woman in the trench coat seemed to be taking the abuse really well and didn't seem to be losing her strength. It wasn't until Jordan saw the IV pole near the woman's feet that he stopped kicking. He reached down lifted the pole and pulled it from its stand. He turned and, in putting all his weight into it, dropped the end of the pole into the woman's skull.

For a moment no one said anything. Jordan remained with his hands on the pole as he stared at the twisted face of his victim, then suddenly without warning he let out a blood curdling scream. Even Arlow who was losing consciousness against the wall was wide-eyed at his friend's breakdown. Blair jumped back against the desk and covered her ears. Jordan's screaming continued till he ran out of breath and once it returned he spoke, "This city can fuck itself. I won't let it take me." His words were barely audible, but they were still the last thing Arlow heard before passing out.

Jordan explained to Blair what had happened out near the fish market with the little girl. He also explained his failure in finding Keira, while he assisted her in lifting Arlow onto the cot where she proceeded to operate. "I can see why you're freaking out then," Blair said as she used tweezers she found nearby to pick the buckshot from Arlow's chest and arm. She explained, "I think he'll be alright, all the shot that hit his chest luckily didn't get through his ribs and the ones in his arm missed his arteries." She paused briefly and glanced down at James before stating, "James on the other hand, I don't know what to do about. I've looked through this room and there seem to be no antibiotics of any kind. I'm pretty sure he's coming down with an infection and with our luck, so will Arlow." Jordan shared a look of frustration with her before he started searching the room on his own.

As Blair was finishing up bandaging him, Arlow started to come to. He asked a mumbled question that no one could really make out. Blair comforted him, "It's alright. Just relax." She put on a weak smile, "You know you're kind of lucky you passed out. There's no anesthetic." Jordan was rummaging through a closet in the back of the room when he pulled a few boxes loose and they fell to the floor. A couple of packages marked "Vitastat" fell out. Jordan reached down and cracked open the packages to find some tin containers each marked "First Aid Kit: General Purpose".

"Hey, I think I found something." Jordan set the box of first aid kits at Arlow's feet on the cot. Arlow sat up with a grimace and a grunt, Blair glared at him for this action but then decided it best to just roll her eyes at his macho attitude. The three of them each took one of the tin containers and popped them open. What were inside were a single syringe and a folded piece of paper. The contents of the syringe appeared to glow red. Blair set down the tin container and read the paper, "Vitastat's general purpose first aid kit: When your vitality is more important than your time." Blair looked at the other two with a puzzled look on her face.

"It says here to just inject the whole thing," Jordan was still reading the paper, "And to repeat if desired?" His arms flopped to his sides as he wore a dumb founded look on his face. Arlow was studying the needle in his hands. He glanced down at Blair, who was checking James' temperature, before shrugging and stabbing his own arm with the needle. A second after he pressed down the plunger he gasped for air like it was his first time. Blair jumped up and Jordan went to Arlow's side. Arlow looked to his friends and with restored vigor said, "Wow!"

Blair had removed Arlow's bandages to find all the wounds had healed shut and all the evidence that was left were the scars. Arlow was now bouncing around the room, "I feel great! A hundred and ten! This is amazing." Blair didn't share his excitement. "Better hope there's no side effects," she said under her breath then she glanced down at James. It wasn't long before the three of them had lifted James onto the cot and there was a debate ensuing about if they should give him the glowing red drug as well. Arlow defended it saying he felt fine while Blair insisted on unknown hazards. "Maybe wait to see if Arlow goes buggy?" After finishing his sentence an image of the 'Buzzy Man' had entered Jordan's mind.

"That's ridiculous! How long can we wait? James just keeps getting worse!" Blair was about to retort but James' arms started flailing on the cot, he was seizing. Arlow reacted by holding his upper body and Jordan did the same for his lower body. Blair was the one left to make the decision. She pulled out one of the syringes and needles and put the two together, then hesitated. "Damn it Blair! He might die from this! Hit him up now!" Arlow's patience was growing short. Blair closed her eyes as she shoved the needle into James' chest.

James shot up, eyes wide and taking a deep breath in a similar fashion as Arlow had before. Then he started yelling, "A rivet? Look out!" The other three stared at James as he begun to calm down. He looked around and had a moment of embarrassment sitting there with everyone looking at him. "What's going on?" He asked as he examined himself and his surroundings. No one bothered to answer until an expression of shock came to his face when he felt the bandage on top of his head.

Blair spent the next few minutes explaining all that's happened to James while Arlow and Jordan were kneeling by the bodies of the insane couple that attacked them earlier. "Look at this," Arlow was saying has he removed the suit jacket from the male body, "He's covered in _thousands_ of bullet holes. It's like he didn't even notice." Jordan nodded as he pointed out, "Their faces are all fucked up like the rest of the loonies that we've run into, and their eyes almost look like hawks eyes." Arlow's curiosity sparked so he decided to open the male body's eyelids and saw that they were much like the eyes of some predatory bird. "Must make them better at aiming," he hypothesized.

After their heart to heart on the situation James and Blair stood facing the other two. "Alright," James started, "Now that I'm feeling… Dapper, I think its best that we start looking for Keira, and then we should focus on a way back to the surface." Jordan stepped forward, "Wait aren't you gonna fill us in? Don't you know anything about this insane city?" James shook his head, "No, All I know is the details that link to the surface. I spoke with one woman who seemed to know a lot but she didn't want to open up about it. In fact, if she knew I was planning an expedition down here, I don't think she would have told me anything. I found the place by following the money trail. All I really know is this city was funded by a man named Andrew Ryan sometime after World War II. He sunk, pun intended, billions of dollars into it. I just wanted to know what he was up to. This… This was unimaginable."

Jordan's rage grew uncontrollable, "That's fucking fantastic… DOC! Do you have any idea what kind of shit storm you drove us into!? There is death everywhere here! EVERYWHERE!" Arlow placed a cool hand on Jordan's shoulder, "Calm down son. Calm down." Jordan cooled it but his face showed distaste to being called "son". James looked disturbed and flustered, "I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't know. God help me, if we don't find Keira…" The guilt was visible on James' face.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The team had ventured out of the first aid room with somewhat restored optimism. It turned out the woman in the trench coat was wearing a rucksack with a few candy bars labeled as "Pep Bar's" and a few shells to her shotgun. Arlow was now carrying the rucksack loaded with the first aid kits, the flashlights, and the rations they took from the sub. He carried the shotgun loaded and ready in his hands. Jordan had the pistol, now fully loaded with a variety of colored bullets, and the bullets in his pocket as well as the flare gun with its last flare in his waistband. James held a curiously redesigned "Tommy" gun, but as they failed to find any ammo on the man in the pinstripe suit, it was really just for show.

They all decided to stick to the idea that Keira would have made her way towards the lighted area of the city so they continued in that direction. After walking through several corridors of metal hallways they finally game to another bulkhead. Arlow worked the door open while Jordan was ready to provide cover fire in the event of another attack. The door opened into a long tube that traveled along the oceans floor to the next building. The team stopped to debate.

"Do you really think Keira would have come this way? Wouldn't the door already be open?" Blair insinuated. Arlow replied as he studied the door itself, "I think these things close themselves. It looks like there's a pneumatic system connected to the hinges." Jordan stepped out into the tube to have a look around as James scratched his chin and commented, "I don't really know how much of this building was searched. Is it possible she's still in… what did you call it Blair, Neptune's Bounty?" Blair nodded but Jordan was the one who answered James' question, "I've been in most of the building, a lot of it was blocked off so, unless she went back to the sub, this is the way she went." Jordan gestured with his arms spread wide, "From what I can see out here, this is the only way to the next building. There's no other standing connection to Neptune's Bounty." Everyone sided with Jordan's argument, so the team carried on towards the next tower.

The passageway between the two buildings was made of an incredibly strong semitransparent material. Every ten feet there were metal bindings connecting one section of the material to the next. The team walked on a grate that was fastened to the metal bindings and hovered above the pipe like floor to create level ground. Through the glass the ocean floor was visible as where a variety of deep ocean species of plants and animals. Blair's eye was caught by one in particular.

She stopped without a word to the rest of the team as she was captivated by what looked like a football sized red slug. The reason it was so interesting was the manner in which it glowed. It wasn't glowing brightly enough to emit much light but the red bio-luminescence reminded Blair of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. James, who had noticed Blair's absence from the group, stepped up beside her and said, "You know it really would be nice to have time to study some of this." Blair didn't respond with anything more than a silent nod.

The team reached the bulkhead on the other side of the passage and when they opened it they found themselves stepping out into what appeared to be a city street. Parked, burned up cars lined the street, and street lamps lit a sidewalk covered in loose luggage and long since dead bodies. As the street seemed to end at a wall to the left, and had walls on both sides everyone headed up the street to the right. Jordan kicked over luggage and maneuvered around the corpses as he traipsed on. The others followed until Arlow stopped and pointed out, "This is just too bizarre, all these cars and this stretch of road, for what? It's not like they could possible drive any further than the building is wide."

Everyone except Jordan stopped to consider Arlow's thought. Blair was the first to come up with an idea. She shrugged then suggested, "Perhaps it just helps create a sense of normalcy." Jordan, who was a good ten meters ahead and standing atop a rise in the road, turned back and yelled at the crew, "Or perhaps the road can go further than you think!" When everyone had caught up to Jordan they saw what he had meant. After rising the road dropped down below ground level and appeared as though it traveled under the ocean's floor. James thought aloud, "Amazing, they tunneled a highway connecting some of the structures. I would reason the ones that are more open to the public than the rest of the city."

James' theory proved to be correct. As the team continued onward entrances to places like "Sinclair Luxury Apartments", "Poseidon Sky View Place", and "Rapture Residential" appeared on the sides of the street. After the sixth apartment complex Jordan stopped abruptly and turned to the others, "This is impossible." His head dropped before continuing, "Keira could be inside anyone of these places. How in the hell are we going to find her?" Blair had a look around the area as she ran her hands through her hair. Her eyes went wide when they fell on one apartment complex in particular. "What about in there," she said as she pointed towards a sign that read "Triton's Favor". Arlow read the sign and responded with a shocked, "Unbelievable."

After passing an open metal gate and climbing a set of stairs the group found themselves standing in what appeared to be the lobby of a fancy hotel. The walls were not lined with metal but instead hardwood paneling. The front desk, also made of a dark hardwood, sat in the middle of the room. A set of arched stairways on either side climbed up to an upper level that over looked the lobby. Behind the desk, above a collection of mailboxes, was a wall mounted camera with a small blinking green light on top. The camera panned until the group was standing directly in front of the lens.

"It looks like they have working security here." Arlow observed when without notice an alarm begun screaming and red lights started flashing. The room was immediately filled with chaos of light and noise. "Oh fuck, what now?" Jordan asked to no one in particular but his question was soon answered by a strange humming sound that was reminiscent of a toy gas-powered helicopter. From the upper level two machine guns mounted to the bottom to some props came floating over the railing and opened fire on the crew. The first volley of bullets from one of the guns fired down the middle of the team. James and Arlow dove to the sides while Jordan managed to make his way over the desk. Blair was to slow to react and took a bullet through the leg.

She dropped to the floor screaming in pain. Arlow returned fire and his first shot hit one of the floating gunships. After a small explosion in the gun's housing it dropped dead to the floor. Meanwhile the other gun was opening fire on the desk where Jordan was taking cover. James in a sort of brave stupidity ran up behind the turret and started swing his "Tommy" gun at it. Arlow pumped his shotgun as the turret turned its sights on James. Before the turret could open fire Arlow's buckshot filled the gunship full of holes. "YEAH!" he yelled triumphantly over the sounds of the alarm. As he kicked the machine on the floor he screamed, "You know what you are? You're fucking Swiss cheese!" Jordan stood up and was about to congratulate Arlow when he was interrupted by the sound of more humming motors.

Like before the turrets came floating over the railing on each side of the lobby. Before they opened fire once more James threw himself on top of Dr. Swanson. He screamed as bullets riddled his back. Arlow started yelling as he loaded two more shells into his shotgun, "Shit! Someone get that damn alarm off!" Jordan took a shot at one of the turrets with his pistol. The bullet hit its mark causing a flurry of sparks to start flying from it. The electricity from the bullet shorted out the turret and it fell to the ground still attempting to fly but failing. Arlow, after watching Jordan, noticed that the camera above him was watching the whole the thing. Arlow pointed to the camera when he yelled towards Jordan, "Take it out!"

The remaining turret opened fire on Arlow who dove aside. Jordan glanced up then pointed his gun straight up and pulled the trigger. The bullet passed right through the camera and into the ceiling above. A shower of sparks fell down on Jordan as the alarm went silent and the lights returned to normal. The turret opened fire once more in Jordan's direction but it too was soon Swiss cheese by way of Arlow's buckshot. After pumping his gun once more Arlow turned towards Blair and James. James was on his back bleeding out while Blair knelt beside him clutching the wound in her leg.

James took a deep breath as the needle was put into his arm. He shot up taking a deep breath as a dozen bullets fell from his back and the wounds closed themselves up. Arlow readied another syringe as he knelt next to Blair. She swatted the thing from his hand, "You're not going to shoot me up with that shit!" Arlow looked at her with frustration, "We gotta keep moving and you're going to make it really hard to do that with a bullet in your leg." Blair's eyes filled with tears, "I just… I don't… Have much choice, do I?" Arlow went and picked up the needle and sorrowfully apologized, "I'm sorry." He put the needle into her leg and pushed down the plunger.

A look of ecstasy came to Blair's face as she pulled in all the air her lungs could take. The bullet in her leg fell out and the wound closed leaving behind only a small scar. "Oh my god." She said somewhat flustered.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The turrets yielded four clips of ammo that James could actually use in his machine gun. After checking the turrets, they carried on through the apartment complex, checking one apartment at a time. Every now and then they would find another camera at the end of a hall, but Jordan had worked out a pretty good system for staying out of their line of sight and cutting their power. Each apartment they checked, and only found dried decaying corpses, caused them all to become more dispirited. Throughout their search they found nothing but a few bags of chips and another shotgun shell. Most of the building it would seem had been stripped bare and no sign of Keira was seen.

They had reached the last apartment in the very top of the building; the penthouse suite. Arlow kicked the door down and entered with his shotgun leveled. The others followed. Jordan was last and by this point was dragging his feet. He didn't even bother to look through the room. He just sat down on an old and dusty recliner that faced the window overlooking the ocean and part of Rapture. "I hate this city." He mumbled to himself and started eating one of the bags of chips. Blair gave him a look of disdain from the other side of the room.

James who was in the kitchen with Blair was looking through cupboards. Blair turned to him and said, "He's giving up." James just gave her a, "mm-hmm," as he continued to ruffle through the cupboards. Blair persisted, "James, Jordan's been through more and seen more than the rest of us. If he gives up now isn't it only a matter of time…" She couldn't finish her thought. She had James' attention now as he turned to her and held her shoulders, "Look, there's no reason to give up now. We're alive, healthy and armed. We'll find her, and find a way out of here. We're not losing yet." He held Blair close and gave her a light kiss on her forehead.

After searching the penthouse Arlow, now holding a bottle of whiskey came and sat near Jordan. "Cheers," Arlow said as he cracked open the bottle and threw back a swig then handed the whiskey to Jordan. Jordan glanced at the bottle for a second, "I don't feel much like celebrating." Then he handed the whiskey back to Arlow. Arlow was surprised but shrugged it off and helped himself to another drink, "You know it's good for drowning sorrows too." Jordan turned to him with a sour look, "I'm already drowning. We all are down here."

Jordan stood up and walked closer to the window looking up in hopes of seeing the surface. "We just can't seem to get a break." Jordan glanced back down at the city when he suddenly wore a smile and without a word he bolted out the door to the penthouse and made his way downstairs. Arlow stood up and looked out to see what it was that Jordan saw. "It's Keira!" Arlow yelled as he started banging on the glass. Blair and James rushed to his side. Down at the base of the building was Keira being lead through one of the clear passageways. Blair was the first to ask, "Who's that with her?"

Keira had her head down and was in tears. Her hands were tied behind her back as a man wearing doctor's scrubs and a lab coat pressed a pistol to her back. Two paces behind the doctor was an enormous man wearing an armored diver's suit. The diver appeared to be missing his right hand and forearm and instead he had what looked like a giant rivet gun. Upon this observation Arlow burst out, "That's what shot our sub! Jordan ran down there!" James gave Arlow one look before them and Blair made a run for the door.

Jordan made his way to the bulkhead and had it open when he saw the two men and Keira at the far end of the passageway. He didn't hesitate to run towards them yelling out for Keira's attention, "Keira! Are you okay!?" Keira turned to see Jordan running towards her. The man in the doctor's outfit pressed the gun into her back but that didn't stop her from crying out, "Jordan!" She tried to turn but the doctor hit her with the butt of his gun and caught her as she fell unconscious. With Keira on his shoulder the man turned to the giant in the diving suit, "Don't let him past you."

The man in the suit wore a diving helmet that hid his face; instead he had a round visor that was lit with a green light. As Jordan drew closer the light had turned red and the diver let out a fierce growl that shook the very foundations of the passageway. Jordan stopped only briefly before continuing to make a run for Keira. When he neared the diver it appeared as though the menacing figure wasn't going to react but the moment Jordan began to pass, the diver's massive arm came up and clotheslined Jordan flat onto his back. Jordan felt his chest collapse from the impact and before he could catch his breath the monster placed his massive steel boot on Jordan's abdomen.

Another growl filled the passageway as the others entered the scene. James, Arlow and Blair started to run down the glass tunnel only to have the body of their friend come flying at them. Jordan flailed in the air trying to catch anything he could but the monster had kicked him so hard there was nothing he could do. Jordan slammed into James and Arlow knocking them over and tripping up Blair in the process. The menacing creature at the other end of the passage way stepped through the bulkhead. Once the bulkhead was closed sparks started to fly around its edges. The diver was welding it shut.

"No!" Jordan screamed as he tried to get up but was stopped by pain from broken ribs. He grimaced and tried to bare it but he only managed to make it a few steps before he lost his breath to the pain. Arlow made a run for the doorway and attempted to turn the wheel to unlock it, but by then it was too late. The door was welded solid. "AHHH!" Arlow screamed as he pounded on the doorway. Blair sat on the grating watching as Arlow vented his frustration. "She was right there. We were so close." Blair's eyes started to turn watery. James knelt down and held her briefly before turning to Arlow, "Arlow! Take care of Jordan before he passes out!" Arlow glared at James' ordering him around at this time, but none the less he agreed, and walked towards Jordan as he removed the rucksack.

The four companions were taking a moment to rest against the walls of the passageway and reflect on what had just happened. "She was right there." Blair repeated. "What does that creep want with her?" Arlow was asking but not expecting an answer. James stood up and said, "At least we know she's alive, whoever that man was he didn't want her dead." "Ya, well, I want him dead and his little dog too." Jordan's comment caused a haunting silence among the group.

After recharging on the ration packs the team set out back to the street. It was agreed that the best way to follow Keira's direction from the connecting passageway a building up. From the street they found the building gated but a single shot from Jordan's pistol broke the lock and they entered the apartment by travelling up a flight of stairs. The lobby was similar to the one at the "Triton's Favor" but somehow it appeared cleaner and there was no camera to be seen.

The group was having a look around the lobby when they heard footsteps coming towards them on the balcony. Jordan and James hid behind the desk while Blair and James squatted down on the steps they entered on. There were sounds of almost a half-dozen sets of footsteps. They made their way down the stairs to the lobby and once they were in the center of the room Arlow, James and Jordan came out of hiding weapons drawn and leveled on their surprised targets.

Standing before them stood a group of people. Every one of them had a weapon of some kind and each of them was dressed very similar. They each wore black military style boots and urban camouflaged pants with black naval sweaters and black berets. James hesitated to fire because he had a moment of confusion once he saw a woman's face that wasn't distorted and twisted. Arlow and Jordan were similarly confused as they appeared to be seeing double but realized their mistake when the twin brothers in front of them suddenly shot lightning from their hands. Arlow and Jordan were stunned in an instant.

The woman leading the group of soldiers spoke up, "Hold your plasmids boys! No sense wasting anymore EVE here." A burly soldier holding something that resembled a flame thrower protested, "But ma'am they could be splicers!" The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes, "When's the last time you've seen splicers actually successfully ambush us?" The burly man's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he thought on it but never came back with a reply. The woman walked up to James very calmly with her hand in front of her, "Easy there, partner. No reason for hostility." James hesitated before lowering his gun. "There's a good boy." The woman put on a kind smile before she took a hold of James' gun and knocked him unconscious with it. Before Blair could react the woman had a pistol drawn and had it pointed between Blair's eyes. "Let's have a little talk shall we?" the woman said with an expression of pride.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Arlow was the last to come to. He awoke to find that Blair was sitting comfortably on the lobby desk speaking candidly with the female soldier while James and Jordan were speaking to the twins. The two other soldiers were keeping an eye on the stairway that goes back to the street. "Wha… What's going on?" Arlow asked the room. James was the one to come help Arlow up as he said, "I think we may have found some good people in this city after all." Arlow raised his eyebrows and smiled just slightly as James helped him to his feet. Arlow tried to stand on his own but found his legs to be quite rubbery. James helped him walk over to Jordan and the twins. The twins made a humorous impression of Arlow getting electrocuted when he came over.

"I can't believe you folks survived a run in with a Big Daddy." The female soldier was speaking to Blair who replied, "Well it didn't really seem interested in us, just in not letting us by." The soldier replied under her breath, "Yeah… they do that sometimes." James approached the two ladies when Blair informed James, "This is Becky." James shook hands with Becky before asking, "So what are you people doing here anyway? Why aren't you crazy like everyone else?" Becky took a moment to think about his questions, "Well, that's a lot to explain…"

Arlow and Jordan came forward to hear what Becky was telling the others, "Rapture was a simple enough idea. The greatest minds in the world gathered here; the brightest scientists and the most creative artists. Basically if you were the top in your field you ended up in Rapture. Andrew Ryan had this idea that things would advance a lot more quickly if there weren't any limitations. No laws or morals to stop scientific progress. It worked out fine until someone came up with ADAM. It's a super drug that comes from sea slugs," Blair interrupted, "I think I know which ones you're talking about, the ones with the red bioluminescent." Becky replied by putting her finger on her nose, "They started putting ADAM into everything, most notably, the first aid kits." Arlow gave Blair a sorrowful look when he realized what that meant.

Becky continued, "ADAM made a lot of things, that no one thought could be possible, possible. People found the means to alter their own DNA. Soon later Plasmids were designed that allowed people to do things like my friends over there," she pointed to the twins that shot lightning from their hands earlier. "But there is a catch to that kind of power. Those crazy people you guys mentioned; we call them Splicers. Thing is, people become addicted to the raw power of altering themselves. If you start splicing yourself too much with too many plasmids or gene tonics that just aren't stable you start to go mad, and quite possibly deformed. My people and I come from a part of Rapture that saw these problems starting to show. We cut ourselves off from the rest of the city when a civil war broke out. It wasn't until about forty years ago that we had to start venturing back out into the rest of the city."

"The first run out was a massacre. We soon found that if we were going to come out here we needed to splice ourselves as well. It was the only way to fight back the Splicers." Arlow interrupted Becky, "Wait, so why did you need to come back out here?" Becky explained, "At first it was just for extra supplies, but then when it got to the point where our supplies were running to low to fast we needed something more sustainable. So taking back Arcadia was the priority. Arcadia is where the trees grow that gives Rapture its supply of oxygen. We had to take it back to protect the air, and start farming. We weren't successful until we started splicing… It was dangerous to do so but we set out guidelines to protect ourselves from ending up like the Splicers."

James was absorbing every word and was left to ask, "What kind of guidelines?" "Things like not to use any unknown or untested plasmids, so basically only using the ones at the Gather's Gardens." Becky paused because she saw everyone's confusion, "The Gather's Gardens are vending machines that distribute gene tonics. Another guideline is to not mix conflicting plasmids. Like if you have electrical plasmids stick with other electrical plasmids, don't go dipping into the fire ones or telekinesis…" Jordan interrupted, "Whoa, some of you can move things with your minds?" Becky just smiled at him as a couple of envelopes, from the mailboxes behind the desk, flew at his face. "Holy shit!" he managed to gasp as he was otherwise completely stunned.

Blair just had to ask, "What about the first aid kits? Are they safe to be using?" Becky looked a little confused, "Of course. They contain so little ADAM in them. They consist of pretty much just puree sea slug." Blair breathed a sigh of relief but that ignited another question, "Wait, I thought the sea slugs are what the ADAM is made from why would they contain so little?" Becky had a dark look on her face before answering, "Little Sisters. When they first discovered the ADAM in the sea slugs it was quickly learned that they couldn't produce ADAM fast enough for the demand. Little girls were used to solve the problem. They found that by implanting the slugs into a little girl's stomach and feeding them blood the slug's ability to produce ADAM sky rocketed. But the whole procedure warped and twisted the girl's bodies and minds. It made them impossible to hurt but made them mad as a hatter." Blair looked to Jordan recalling what he told her about the little girl in Neptune's Bounty. His eyes were welling up.

James pressed one more question, "So what's your part in all this?" "Ah," Becky started, "Well Rapture wasn't always so full of madness and death. There was a time when great minds operated here. My boys and I gather research and information in hopes to preserve it. Our favorite finds are the audio diaries." Arlow stepped up, "Wait so your glorified historians?" Becky looked a little insulted, "I suppose you could call us that. Besides, we have another priority as well. We retrieve any Little Sisters we might find." Jordan's head popped up, "Any?" Becky gave Jordan a hard look, "You know where one is."

Becky pressed Jordan for information about the Little Sister but he was hesitant to share anything. "Look," Becky spoke with a stern tone, "I understand that you want to protect the girl but trust me. She'll be better in Arcadia with the rest of us. We have ways of treating them." Jordan shook his head, "It's not that. We need to press on. We've got to get Keira back. That little girl is too far back." Becky was confused for a second before stating, "I never said we were going to help." James interjected, "Well perhaps now you would like to?" He nudged Jordan who got where James was going, "You help us get Keira back and we'll tell you where the girl is."

"I can't believe you're trying to barter with us!?" Becky was becoming furious. "Do you have any idea how easily we can kill you right here and now?" She stared down Jordan who appeared to be unwavering. "You'll never do it." He said, "You're not a lunatic like the rest of them out there." Becky looked him in the eye when she said, "Aren't I?" For a moment Jordan thought he saw her iris turn yellow but he dismissed it as an act of his imagination. Becky broke eye contact with him and gave her head a shake. "AH! This is crazy. You people are daft. Fine, you have a deal, but we do things on my terms, and we get the Little Sister first." Jordan shook his head, "No way. You could back out the second you have her." Becky's head dropped in frustration, "Fine! Here's what we'll do. You," she pointed to Jordan, "and I will go for the Little Sister." She looked to the rest of her men before continuing, "The rest of you go track down this Keira." So with that the two groups split up.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Arlow took the time walking through the apartment complex to get to know their new companions. He had learned that the twins, both armed with machine guns, were named Zip and Zap. He found this comical but not as comical as when he found out that the burly soldier, armed with what the soldiers called a chemical thrower, was in fact named Burly. "The story's quite simple." Zap said then Zip continued, "His name is actually Hurly," then in unison they both said, "Then it was Hurly Burly!" They said it loud enough that Burly overheard and went red in the face. The twins laughed at his expense till Zap finished the story, "So now we just call him Burly for short."

Arlow approached the fourth soldier with an open hand. The brooding man, who wore a crossbow on his back and a machete on his side, took one look at the gesture then offered no response. Arlow put his hand back down to his side as he said, "Okay then… They must call you Grumpy." The man looked Arlow in the eyes until Arlow noticed that each of the man's eyes were entirely black. From the pupil to the iris and even the whites of his eyes were black. The man stared at Arlow expecting him to break eye contact but Arlow never did. Wither it was out of fear or bravery he never broke eye contact. The man was impressed so in a low, raspy voice he said, "My name is Aeron." Arlow nodded but was speechless to hear the man's voice.

After Aeron and Arlow's exchange was over Burly walked in tandem with Arlow. "You know," Burly was saying, "he doesn't really talk to too many people. I'd say you two are off to a fine start." Burly nudged Arlow's side and chuckled heartily. James and Blair who were lagging behind the group caught up in time to see Arlow and Burly chuckling together. "It's nice to see some laughter." Blair said, "But I am worried about Jordan and Becky. Why did just the two of them go to Neptune's Bounty and we have a whole army?" Burly laughed abruptly, "Ha! Lady, Becky is all the army you need. Trust me on that." Blair didn't know what to make of Burly's response but somehow she did feel more comfortable having heard it.

It wasn't long before the group had reached another passageway between buildings. For Blair, Arlow, and James' first time they were about to walk into one of the dome like structures. They reached the bulkhead to the dome only to find it had been welded shut. Arlow started to lose his temper as it reminded him of the welded bulkhead they'd lost Keira behind. Burly patted him on the shoulder, "Calm down there lad. The boys 'ill handle this no problem." He gestured towards Zip and Zap who focused their palms on the edges of the door. Their arms started to glow with blue energy just before white-hot lightning started to feed from their finger tips into the edges of the door.

It took awhile before the welds had broken and the twins were panting and sweating after they'd finished the job. Burly stepped forward, "Good job boys. Help yourselves to some EVE." Burly handed a syringe to each twin. The contents of the needles seemed to have a similar glow to the first aid kits with the exception that they were blue. As the twins shot up Blair asked, "What's that?" Zip replied, "It's EVE." Zap added, "It's made from ADAM." Then they said in unison, "From the rib!" They laughed at their own humor; James chuckled at the biblical note as well. Burly shook his head in distaste, "It lets them recharge their powers nice and quickly. They'll recharge slowly over time but it takes a lot out of person, sometimes it's just better to juice up." With that Burly cracked his neck then lifted his leg and kicked the weakened bulkhead clean out-of-place. It flew ten feet into the room before crashing with a hard metal THUD.

Arlow walked up to the bent bulkhead door that now lay on the ground. The door had bent around the area where Burly's foot had made contact. Arlow examined the thickness of the door to be sure there was no illusion. He spoke with some disbelief, "Yup, you definitely just bent a solid ten inch thick piece of steel." Burly was a bit embarrassed, "Just bent it? I used to break those back in my prime!" Zip and Zap gave James and Blair a look then shook their heads while they mouthed the words, "No Way." Burly's moment was short-lived when voices were suddenly heard somewhere in the room. "Where am I? Where am I?" The voices whispered disturbingly soft and seemingly from everywhere at once.

James scanned the room. It appeared to be a factory or distribution center of some kind. There were conveyor belts running in and out of machines and a system of catwalks with a multitude of stairs leading in every direction. It was no wonder he couldn't see where the voices were coming from. There was a copious amount of potential hiding places. "Where am I? Where am I?" The voices continued to ask the question when James felt a chill down his back. He turned to see a contorted figure of a man wielding a knife. He screamed as he fell backwards only to see the man disappear before his eyes. The voices continued, "Where am I? Where am I?"

Blair having seen what happened to James ran to his side to pull him back on his feet. "Do we have to deal with ghosts now?" she asked. "Not ghosts deary," Burly was starting to explain, "It's a Houdini Splicer. Did Becky mention the guideline about not using the teleportation tonics?" James and Blair shook their heads. Burly continued, "It works great at first but then you start to become unstable, start to have a hard time keeping your form in any one place, hence…" Then like they were queued the haunting whispers returned, "Where am I? Where am I?"

Everyone moved into the room aiming to reach the center when the figure took shape. It pulled itself together on top of one of the machines. Arlow was the first to react as he took a shot. The figure vanished before the buckshot landed. "You'll never get'em with that scatter gun!" Burly put his hand on the barrel of the shotgun and lowered it when he said, "Boys you're up again." Zip and Zap responded with a confident nod.

They stood back to back in the center of the room, their arms glowing blue with raw energy, when the figure took shape again up on a railing two stories up. The splicer started screaming, "I'm here! I'm here!" His arms started to emit red light then in an instant they burst into flames. He laughed manically as balls of flame formed before his hands and he threw them like baseballs at the twins. None of the fireballs hit their target as they just exploded on both sides of the twins. Zap pushed his palm forward as electricity flew from his fingertips and hit the railing. The Houdini Splicer had already vanished once again. "Where am I? Where am I?" the voice repeated.

This continued for quite some time. The splicer threw fireballs and teleported while the twins did their best to try to strike him with their lightning. The room was filled with flashes of blue and red light. Arlow watched as if he was at a sporting event, "Come on! Get 'em! He's gone left! He went right!" Blair was getting fed up with the scene until she burst out, "Oh, this is ridiculous!" She reached down and took James' machine gun from his hands then walked into the middle of the battlefield. She aimed high towards the upper railing then squeezed the trigger as she turned on the spot.

After the last bullet in the clip fired there was silence. Even Zip and Zap stood in shock at the random act of violence. Then a whispered voice interrupted the silence, "You fucking bitch." Everyone turned to see the Houdini Splicer clutching his abdomen as he fell from the railing. Blair stood triumphant as she rested the "Tommy" gun on her shoulder with the barrel lightly smoking. James stood agape until he said, "Hot damn." Seeing Zip and Zap were slightly emasculated Burly spoke up, "I suppose you could do it that way… But ma'am, that was one hell of a waste of ammo."

Everyone was busy congratulating Blair when a pocket in Burly's ammo belt started talking, "Come in Hurl. How you guys doing out there?" Burly popped the button on the ammo pouch and pulled out a small bronze radio. It had an awkward shape to it, with a large antenna, one large round speaker and a strange cartridge that had a picture of Becky on it. Burly pressed a button on the side and spoke into the speaker. "Hey there, Becky, we're all good. Blair just finished off a Houdini Splicer here in the EVE distribution center. Everyone's alive and well."

"That's good to hear Hurl. We just made it to Neptune's Bounty. Hopefully we can catch up soon." Becky placed the com back into her ammo belt. Jordan looked at her with an odd expression, "Why do you call him Hurl? Are you mocking him?" Becky continued on not giving Jordan a response. "Still mad at me are you?" Jordan tried to make peace, "Look, you have to understand our position. We're not from around here. We're not used to this madness. We need help from people like you." Becky still said nothing, but she looked over her shoulder at him with the slightest hint of sympathy. Jordan was still frustrated from the silent treatment, "Fine, just bottle it all up. I'm sure whatever you might have to say it wouldn't be all that interesting anyway."

They were reaching the first aid room where Jordan, Arlow and Blair had the scuffle with the two splicers. As they passed by Becky took a casual look inside when she noticed the two bodies. She looked at Jordan and pointed at the IV pole sticking out of the woman's head. Jordan gave it a look before saying, "Yeah… That was me." Becky gave an understanding nod then they carried on. It wasn't long before they came across the body of the "buzzy man". Again Becky looked at Jordan and pointed at the body. Jordan looked at the crispy remains, "Yup, me again." This time Becky chuckled before speaking the first words she spoke in quite a while, "And you say you need help."

Becky had finally warmed up to Jordan by the time the two of them reached the fish market. Jordan pointed to the body near one of the shanties, "She was right there the last time I saw her." Becky scanned the area when she asked, "How long ago was that?" Jordan stopped to think about that, "Huh, you know what? I have no idea. We might have been in Rapture a day now, and I'm not even tired…" Becky satisfied his bewilderment before he got caught up in it, "The first aid kits have that effect." Jordan scoffed then quoted the ad, "Oh yeah, when your vitality is more important than your time." Up a flight of stairs the two started to hear heavy footsteps followed by a childish voice, "This way Mr. Bubbles! I smell an angel!"

They ventured up the stairs and entered a local tavern that was marked by a burnt out neon light that said, "The Fighting McDonagh". Becky took point as they entered what must have been the back entrance to the place. They followed the noise of the Little Sister and her Big Daddy into the main bar area. Besides a few knocked over tables and chairs the tavern was in surprisingly good shape, compared to the rest of Rapture. It was clear the pub was built to last but as the Big Daddy rounded the corner it was also clear the hardwood floor was having a hard time holding the weight.

Becky and Jordan sized up the Big Daddy. It was shorter than the one Jordan had a run in with but it was much larger in every other dimension also instead of rivet gun for an arm this one appeared to have a drill. The Little Sister spoke, "Look Mr. Bubbles a bride and groom!" Jordan gave Becky a sideways look while she just shook her head and said, "Don't let her maddened rambles give you any ideas." Then Becky drew her pistol. "Uh-Oh Daddy, looks like the bride wants a flower girl." The Little Sister hid behind the Big Daddy's leg. The Daddy pointed his drill towards the two and revved it up.

Jordan took a step backwards when he saw the Big Daddy's show of force. Becky didn't move, "Don't worry; he won't do anything till we try something. They're noble like that." This didn't comfort Jordan at all as it just gave him a reason to feel guilty for what looked like was going to go down. Becky with her gun in hand walked up to the bar and placed it on the counter. She sat only two meters from the Big Daddy. The Little Sister tilted her head to the side then said, "Mr. Bubbles, I want a piggy back ride!" The Daddy dropped to one knee and put an arm out for the girl to climb onto his back. "I don't think the bride will bother us do you daddy?" The girl leaned in front of Mr. Bubbles' visor when she asked that. He replied with a low rumbling growl. The two of them walked out of the room and into another part of the tavern.

Jordan was confused when he sat down next to Becky, who was now throwing back a shot of whiskey. "I don't understand," he started, "I thought you need to get the girl. Don't you have to get rid of the big guy first?" Becky threw back another shot and nodded as she grimaced from the liquor's burn then said, "That there is what we call a Bouncer. They're a mean sort of Daddy to deal with, and you really don't want to deal with them in tight quarters." Jordan glanced around the room and realized how narrow it might be if you were trying to avoid that drill. "So what are we going to do?" he asked. "We have to get him outside." Becky answered then leaned over and asked Jordan, "How fast can you run?" Jordan suddenly had the need for a shot of whiskey.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The twins were in the midst of checking the area and the splicer's body for any signs of some EVE. Aeron stood silently by, leaning near a doorway on the second level. James and Blair stood by anxiously waiting to move on while Arlow tinkered with his gun before asking, "Does anyone have any shells left? I only have the three." Burly looked up from a barrel he was rummaging through, "Sorry mate. None of us carry a Coach Gun." Arlow asked, "Coach Gun?" Burly shook his head like a teacher who had just had a student tell him two plus two is ten, "Ya, A Coach Gun, a Thumper, a Thunder Rod, a Pebble Thrower, a Boomstick, a…" The twins interrupted Burly before he could continue, "A SHOTGUN!" Burly pointed his thumb towards the two of them, "Ya, or you could call it that."

After searching the area and finding two syringes of EVE the soldiers started to head towards the door on the second floor that Aeron was standing guard at. James and Blair pointed to another way before she started saying, "Hold on. Shouldn't we be going towards the building a block down? We don't know if Keira was taken further up then the next building down." Burly yelled at them from the top of the stairs, "You should learn to trust the locals, ma'am! Believe me when I say this, you don't want to be heading in that direction." She whispered to James, "What does that mean for Keira?" James gave her a concerned expression before he followed the soldiers through the doorway at the top of the stairs.

The crew found themselves on a third story catwalk that followed the perimeter of an enormous train station. The ceiling was curved glass and looked out into the ocean. A large pod of Right whales swam over head which caused Blair to comment, "I didn't think they came this far into the North Atlantic, fascinating." The majority of the station was adorned in intricate gold and copper metalwork. One train still sat at one of the platforms and the other three sets of tracks were empty. The area around the platforms looked like it was strictly designed for shipping products as the conveyors from the other room seemed to feed to this room. Everyone made their way down a flight of stairs to the lower level.

On the ground level the floor was a unique form of stamped concrete but the delicate carvings in the stone had become eroded by time and water damage. What appeared to be vines, growing from the ocean floor near the tracks, were creeping their way throughout the area and up the pillars that supported the upper catwalk. The only other way out of the room seemed to be to follow the tracks and that was where the team was headed when they heard it; an inhuman piercing scream that caused everyone to freeze in their tracks. The scream shook the air and made the hairs on everyone's skin crawl.

All the soldiers, even Aeron who never showed any emotion, suddenly had a grave appearance to their demeanor. Blair grabbed James' hand and held herself close to his body, for this James was thankful. Arlow was the only one not showing any signs of great fear. He just looked to Burly for an explanation. Burly saw Arlow's expression and read the question written in face. He answered in one simple word, "Death."

Arlow wasn't satisfied with that answer nor was he comforted by it but before he could ask for a clearer view of the situation he heard voices screaming in pain and agony. The screams came from down the train tunnel. Everyone stood in a row and watched into the darkness of the tunnel for any sign that the chaos might head their way. Chaos did come their way in the form of a Splicer running towards them. His body was lit aflame and as he ran through the darkness he lit the tunnel around him. His screams didn't last long as his legs turned to ash and his head fell towards the ground. His skull turned to cinder when it impacted the floor.

At first there was nothing, no more noise, no lights or any signs of any movement until the faintest red light started to appear. Out the corner of their eyes everyone saw as Aeron seemed to disappear. They could feel his presence was still there but he was completely invisible. Burly swallowed hard as he watched the tunnel intently. He appeared to be whispering something under his breath but whatever it was no one could hear. The light began to become clearer and before long it was clear that it was a glowing red visor of a diving mask. "Is it a Big Daddy?" Blair asked. "No," the twins stated, "A Big Sister."

The Big Sister stepped out of the darkness of the tunnel and into the light. She wore a modified diving suit similar to that of the Big Daddies although her oxygen tank appeared larger on such a slender body. She stood in a manner where her legs appeared to bow together and her arms followed a similar fashion. On each arm there seemed to be mounted what looked like large blades but on closer inspection it would be clear that they were in fact large needles that fed tubes into the Big Sister's helmet. Upon seeing the group ahead of her the Big Sister broke into a run straight at Burly.

"Oh shit boys, she's hungry!" Burly shouted then followed it with an order to the twins, "Light her up!" The twins drew their machine guns as their hands began to glow with an electric current. A shower of electrically charged bullets sprayed in the Big Sister's direction but before she was caught in the gunfire she disappeared in a purple haze. She reappeared, in a similar smoke, standing directly before Burly. Her arm came back to plunge the massive needle into Burly's chest but the needle stopped dead before breaking through the skin. It wasn't clearly visible, but a moment of confusion struck the Big Sister as she saw that Burly's entire body had turned to stone, with the exception of his head.

Burly's body was solid stone and unable to move but his voice was still free to mock the attacker, "Ha! How do you like that bitch? This is one body of ADAM you're not getting a sip of!" Burly was about to spit more insults but the Big Sister silenced him by slamming the top of her helmet into his nose. His nose broke on impact and the force caused him to fall backwards. Burly was unable to stop himself from falling so his head hit the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious.

The Big Sister looked to size up the others in the group. The twins leveled their guns on her but before they could pull the trigger she let out another piercing scream. Blair, James and Arlow had to shelter their ears from the blast while the soldiers all tried to bare it with their hands still on their firearms. A bolt seemingly out of nowhere fired from where Aeron was once standing. It struck the Big Sister in the shoulder. Arlow had caught just a glimpse of the wire attached to the bolt before an electric current begun to travel down it. The Big Sister was tasered where she stood.

Her body convulsed for just a moment as she got enough strength to swing her arm up and cut the wire free. Another shriek was followed by the Big Sister slamming her hands on the ground and lifting them into the air. Any rubble and stone in the area followed her gesture as it started to float around. She stood still while garbage cans, a bench and numerous stones started to circle her. Faster and faster, the objects picked up speed. James was knocked aside by a stone tile; he landed on his side and felt as though he had broken his right arm. The debris continued to circle the Big Sister before she shrieked once more and the objects flew in every direction.

Zap took a garbage can to the chest and was knocked over while Zip ducked in time for a large rock to pass over his head. Blair dropped to her stomach and rolled when the bench bounced by only inches from her. Arlow was hit only with a few pebbles and stones that hadn't fazed him. He leveled his shotgun on his target and got off two shots. The first blast reflected off of the Big Sister's helmet and the second peppers her side with buckshot. She turns to Arlow, appearing little more than annoyed. Her hand comes up and begins to turn red like embers. Arlow raises his gun to block whatever's coming.

A wave of flame spirals out of the palm of the Big Sister's hand. The flame travels through the air landing on Arlow's shotgun. Arlow drops the gun as it turns red-hot from the heat then he takes the wave of flame to the chest. He falls to the ground, his naval sweater aflame, and starts to roll about to extinguish the fire. The Big Sister steps towards Arlow as she readies herself to hit him with another fiery blast but she's interrupted by a shower of lead. Zip unloads almost a whole clip of ammo into the Big Sister but before the last few shots fire she disappears again in a cloud of purple smoke.

Blair who was attempting to get herself back up to her feet suddenly feels her lungs fill with smoke. Just when she is starting to get her breath back she feels a cold leather glove grip her by the throat and lift her till her feet are left dangling. The Big Sister holds Blair by the neck as she pulls back her other arm readying to stick the massive needle into Blair's abdomen. "NO!" James screams as he reaches for his machine gun and pulls the trigger. Only a few shots fire before the kickback causes James' broken arm to release the gun. It flies from his grip and lands a couple of meters behind him.

The Big Sister is unfazed by the interruption and is about to thrust the needle into Blair's stomach when she stops to see a machete is placed at her throat. Aeron's invisibility fades away and he shows himself to be standing beside the Big Sister with his machete ready to take her head. Zap, who's just beginning to get back to his feet, yells to Aeron, "What are you waiting for?" Zip chimes in with Zap as they say, "Kill her!" Both the Big Sister and Aeron remain unmoved as Blair squirms to pull out of the Big Sister's grip. Beads of sweat run down Aeron's brow as he attempts to pull his machete through the Big Sister's neck but an unseen force is keeping him from moving.

James yells towards the twins, "She's stopping him! She won't let him do it!" The twins nod then respond to the situation by charging their hands and firing lightning from their fingers. The Big Sister, still with a grip on Blair's throat, reacts by spinning aside and ducking in behind Aeron. Aeron's body shutters as the electricity flows through him. The Big Sister disappears in waft of purple smoke, this time taking Blair with her. The two of them reappear on the top of the dormant train engine and before anyone notices where they've gone the Big Sister thrusts the needle deep into Blair's body, piercing her heart. Blair manages to only make the slightest whimper as her blood is drained from her body.

James hears Blair's whimpering in pain and turns to the train only in time to see the Big Sister throw a lifeless body to the ground. James screams out, "Blair!" The twins follow James' gaze and react by sending a hail of bullets towards the Big Sister. Arlow, who decides to save his last shot, makes a run for Blair's body which has fallen on the platform near the train. James, still gripping his broken arm, joins Arlow at the body of their friend. Arlow checks Blair's pulse and gives James a saddened look when he knows the result. James' eyes well up before he pushes Arlow forward and pulls one of the first aid kits from the rucksack. He presses the needle into Blair's chest and pushes down the plunger. Her body remains lifeless.

Burly's head rings as he starts to return to the world. He looks around in a haze trying to survey the madness. He springs to his feet after seeing James and Arlow on their knees by the Blair's corpse and the twins opening fire on the Big Sister. He runs to James' side and sees the needle in Blair's chest. "I'm sorry mate, but that'll not work." Burly gave James a comforting pat on the shoulder before he turned his attention to the Big Sister only to see she had vanished once again. With his chemical thrower at the ready, Burly spins to survey the room. He spots the Big Sister slowly creeping towards the twins while their backs are turned.

"Boys, get down!" Burly yells towards the twins. They both drop to the ground just as the Big Sister leaps forward aiming to put her needles into targets that are no longer there. Burly aims his chemical thrower high and then with a pull of the trigger it makes a BOOP sound and sends a ball of green ooze towards the distracted attacker. The softball sized ball of liquid lands square on the top of the Big Sister's helmet then the liquid starts to sizzle and steam as it eats away at the metal. The entire helmet melts away before the chemical reaction ceases.

The Big Sister's youthful face is revealed to be quite striking, with long dark hair and eyes that glow yellow. Her expression is one of shock at first but that quickly changes to rage as she throws back her head and shrieks once more. This time everyone covers their ears as the scream seems much louder than ever before but her cry of rage is short-lived. A crossbow bolt enters the Big Sister's skull as her body turns stiff and falls back with a large metal THUD. She lands with her body draping over the massive oxygen tank. Aeron, whose body continues to smoke from being electrocuted, kneels on the ground with one hand down and the other holding his crossbow.

The battle's aftermath had a stirring silence. James clutches Blair in his arms as tears roll down his face. Everyone respects his privacy as he gently whispers into her ear. Arlow and Burly solemnly stand at a distance from both the body of their companion and the body of the attacker that killed her. A saddened Zip and Zap stand over the body of the Big Sister that now somehow looks to them like an innocent young woman. Aeron, still on one knee, breathed heavily as he glanced from one body to the other. His gaze began to stare at the body of the Big Sister when he noticed her hand begin to clench into a fist.

Aeron pulled himself to his feet, and barely able to lift his machete, walked towards the Big Sister. Arlow walked up to him and asked, "What are you doing? What's left?" Aeron gave no answer and continued past Arlow. The twins stood aside as Aeron approached the Big Sister and raised his machete. Arlow watched in horror as Aeron cut away part of the diving suit revealing the Big Sister's pale stomach. Then in even greater horror Arlow saw as Aeron cut her stomach open to reveal a slug the size of a football and glowing red inside the woman's abdomen. It had looked as though it attached to the stomach and it appeared to be drinking from it much like a leech would an open wound. Aeron reached in and pulled the slug free from the Big Sister's insides. As he did so her clenched fist fell limp.

With the slug squirming in one of Aeron's hands and his machete in the other he turned and made a bee line for James and Blair. James put a hand out towards Aeron and screamed, "No! What are you doing?!" Aeron was determined and when James stood to oppose him Aeron shoved him aside then knelt beside Blair's corpse. He cut the slug open and let glowing red liquid pour from its insides. He held Blair's mouth open and forced some of the liquid down her throat. He took his machete and made a cut just below her ribcage then squeezed the last of the liquid into it. After Aeron had stepped back, everyone watched for a long moment in silence.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"This was a really bad idea!" Jordan yelled as he clutched the Little Sister in his arms. She screamed and wailed on him with a stuffed Big Daddy. The real Big Daddy, with a low grumbling growl, was chasing after Jordan with his drill purring like an idling chainsaw. Jordan weaved his way through the wooden halls of "The Fighting McDonagh" before coming out the main entrance. The Big Daddy didn't waste any time weaving; he simply tore through the walls and reduced them to splinters. The entrance to the "The Fighting McDonagh" had a large staircase that Becky had lined with electrified trip wires. Jordan had to step lightly so has to not catch one of the traps himself.

The little girl, looking over Jordan's shoulder, seemed to know what was going on. "No Mr. Bubbles! It's a trap, daddy! It's a trap!" she screamed before Jordan managed to cover her mouth. At that moment, while covering a little girl's mouth as she screamed for her daddy, Jordan felt like a truly horrible person. The Big Daddy hadn't heard the Little Sisters cries and came barreling out of the tavern. His legs caught every one of the trip wires but they failed to trip him up and the shocks went completely unnoticed. "Yay, Mr. Bubbles! Unzip him! Unzip him!" the Little Sister cheered on. Jordan's mind raced with images of being "unzipped".

"Becky!" Jordan was cornered and looked around sporadically for his comrade while yelling, "I don't think he's slowing down, HELP!" At that moment Jordan's pants developed a wet spot just below his crotch. Out of nowhere he heard Becky's voice, "Have you wet yourself?" Jordan looked embarrassed as he looked down then answered with a silent nod. Again Becky's voice spoke to him from out of sight, "Good." By this time the Big Daddy was charging towards Jordan with the drill running. The monstrous diver wound up a hay-maker with his drill arm just as he got close.

The Big Daddy stopped in mid swing when four gunshots rang out. The bullets pierced through the motor housing for the drill causing it to die and lose its spin. The Big Daddy growled loudly causing the entire area to shake. Jordan was still frozen where he stood when the brute had finished his raging cry. Becky screamed to Jordan, "Move you idiot!" Jordan strafed to the side just before the Big Daddy's dead drill connected with the wall. The Daddy had managed to bury his drill and get it stuck in the concrete. He continued to pull on it when Becky came out of hiding.

She walked up to the furious monster who tried to reach out to punish his attacker. Becky just stepped back like it was nothing then drew her pistol and aimed it directly at the diving helmet only to be stopped by the screams of a little girl, "No! Don't hurt Mr. Bubbles!" Jordan sympathized with the Little Sister, "Becky! Don't do it. He can't do anything now." Becky gave him a look that was angry but her eyes were clearly welling up with sadness. "You don't understand," she said, "He's never going to stop looking for her. He'll go mad looking for her and destroy Rapture in the process. They all do." Her eyes dropped to the floor as if she was seeing some distant memory. "We have to put him down. Someone always has to put them down."

Before any further debate could be held, for the fate of the Big Daddy, pebbles and pieces of concrete fell as he pulled his drill arm free from the wall. His visor turned red and he let out a ferocious, booming growl. The ground shook beneath Becky and Jordan's feet as they stood frozen. The Big Daddy hit Becky with a backhand that sent her flying all the way back to the tavern's entrance way. Jordan, still clutching the Little Sister, sprinted to put distance between him and the Big Daddy. Becky watched as Jordan rounded the corner then got back on her feet, after brushing off some dust she said to herself, "I guess we have to do this the messy way now."

It wasn't long before the chase had led Jordan back into the fisherman's market where he first saw the Little Sister drinking blood from a corpse. The Big Daddy was still after him but was being far more careless and aggressive with its movements. The Daddy spent most of his energy sprinting towards Jordan and every time Jordan would move quickly enough so that the Big Daddy would run head first into any nearby wall or shanty. The situation got to a point in an open area on the ocean floor surrounded by a boardwalk. Jordan started to play the part of a bull fighter, dodging the beast's movements, while the Big Daddy acted like the bull, charging headfirst at his target.

Becky watched the ridiculous scene from the boardwalk and decided it was time to step in as Jordan's movements seemed to be slowing down. She dropped from the boardwalk and rolled up the sleeve on her right arm as her hand started to turn blue, then frosty. By the time she was only a few meters from the Big Daddy her hand was completely covered in ice crystals. She pointed towards the brute's feet as a snowy mist traveled from her fingertips. In a few seconds the Big Daddy's feet were frozen to the ground encased in ice. While the Big Daddy started to chip away at the ice with his drill arm, Jordan, between pants, yelled to Becky, "I was… wondering… when you'd… step up!"

This time it was Jordan who drew his pistol and aimed it at the Big Daddy but the Little Sister screamed, "No one makes Daddy an angel!" She then bit down on Jordan's gun arm causing him to drop the pistol and scream in pain. He struggled to keep the girls teeth away from his arms while holding her at arm's length. "It's okay," Becky was saying, "you can put her down now. She won't go anywhere." So Jordan although slightly confused put the girl down. She just stood there looking up at him for a second then pointed to Jordan and screamed, "Unzip them Mr. Bubbles! Unzip them!" Her protector agreed with another loud growl that caused Jordan and Becky to hold their ground covering their ears. The ice around the Big Daddy's feet began to crack away.

It didn't take much more for the Big Daddy to break free of the ice. A quick swing of his drill arm and a hard pull of his legs and he was loose. He burst into a charge after Becky as Jordan went for his gun on the ground. The Daddy's charge was too quick for Becky and she found herself caught in his grip. He carried her for a few meters till his momentum ran out then proceeded to slam her on the ground several times. With each hit Becky felt her ribs and back bones breaking as she screamed in pain. The Little Sister cheered on from the side lines, "That's it Daddy! Smash the bride! No flower girl for her party!" Jordan gave the little girl a sideways glare as he pulled up his pistol and emptied all the chambers.

All six shots landed in the Big Daddy's backside. When some of the bullets landed small sparks could be seen and others made small explosions but it was the ones that didn't do either that seemed to do the most damage as they passed right through the Big Daddy's massive torso. The Daddy looked over his shoulder at Jordan while still crushing Becky under his hand. Becky, still feeling pressure under the giant hand, managed to free her arms then place her hands on the Big Daddy's forearm. Within seconds her arms burst into flames sending the fire up the Big Daddy's arm and engulfing his entire body. The pain of the fire caused the Daddy to release his grip and try to pat out the flames. Becky and Jordan could hear him screaming from inside his helmet.

Becky got to her feet appearing completely unharmed, while the hulking beast breathed heavily as the fire smoldered on his suit. Then after attempting to take a few swings at either Jordan or Becky, who were both well out of his reach, fell to one knee. Becky approached him in his weakened state as she drew a combat knife from the back of her belt. "Mr. Bubbles! Get up!" the Little Sister screamed as Jordan held her back. Becky grabbed the top of the Big Daddies helmet and pulled it back revealing the base of his neck. A tear rolled down her cheek as she brought the knife to his throat and spoke softly, "I'm sorry." In one swift motion the blade glided across the Daddy's neck. Blood poured out as his body fell lifelessly face first into the mud.

The Little Sister's eyes filled with tears as she ran to the body of her fallen protector. "Get up Mr. Bubbles. Get up." She cried. As Becky put her knife away then reached into a pouch on the back of her belt, she gave Jordan an order in a very stern but solemn voice, "Take her out of here." Jordan nodded as he saw her take out some parts to something he couldn't immediately recognize. It wasn't until he held the crying girl and was rounding a corner when he saw out the corner of his eye what it was that Becky had assembled. It was a needle similar to the one the Little Sister had used sometime ago in that very same room.

With the needle in hand, Becky's eyes began to glow yellow as she knelt down beside the body of the Big Daddy. She wept as she spoke sweetly, "Who takes care of the angels? I do… I do…"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Blair lurched forward screaming at the top of her lungs; her eyes bulged in fear. She looked around in a panic as she crawled backward until her back was pressed against a wall. Concerned onlookers watched her as she started to calm down. As soon as Blair's eyes fell on James, who was nearest when she awoke, she moved to hold him tightly in her arms. Although his arms were pinned at his sides James attempted to pat Blair on the back. When he found he couldn't really do that he settled by giving her a kiss on the forehead. He could feel his shirt getting wet from her tears.

Burly walked over beside Aeron and without facing him spoke into his ear so only he could hear, "Did you know that would work or are you just damn lucky?" Aeron replied with a grin as he put his finger to his lips. Burly was unsure what this meant but was satisfied nonetheless as he shrugged and walked towards the train tunnel. "Come on folks! Let's roll out!" he yelled out while waving his hand forward. First the twins followed, then Aeron and Arlow, but Blair was slow to get to her feet as James tried to help her up. In time the pair of doctors finally made their way after their comrades.

The tunnel was abysmally dark, with no natural or powered source of light. The twins' hands glowed with soft blue energy providing some light but not as much as the two flashlights. Arlow had carried them in his rucksack since they left the submarine and was thankful they had carried them this far. The light glistened as it fell on trickles of water leaking in through the tunnel walls. Piles of debris were scattered in various corners near columns and all too often the light fell on corpses covered in mold. It wasn't long before light could be seen at the other end of the tunnel.

Standing before the crew stood a wall made of scrap metal at the end of the tunnel with several flood lights casting their glow into the darkness. A few shadows of humanlike figures seemed to be perched atop the wall with what appeared to be rifles in hand. James, Blair, and Arlow showed concern as they approached the barrier but the soldiers seemed unfazed as they reached a makeshift gate. Two security cameras on each side of the gate turned towards the people. A light on top glowed orange for a moment then after a short beep it turned green. Gears began to turn and steam began to blow from various pipes as the gate lifted. Burly turned to the scientists and waved his hand inside, "Lady and Gentlemen. Welcome to Arcadia."

The twins wasted no time and ran through the entrance and soon disappeared into the crowd of people on the other side. Arlow was at a loss for words as he looked around and saw what could only be described as a town built within the city. There were wooden shops and houses built on the ocean floor which had grown grass and a variety of trees. Blair was agape as she saw varieties of plants she never knew and trees bearing fruits that glowed with vibrant color. As they followed Burly on a well-worn path people strode by carrying produce and tools. James' eye was caught by one man who had what looked like a clunky robotic leg and was followed by a flying turret, like the ones that had tried to kill them in the apartment building.

The awe of Arcadia soon wore off for James when a point had come to his mind. He ran up behind Burly and grabbed his shoulder to spin him around. "Wait. What are we doing here?!" James pressed and fired off many other questions like a machine gun, "Why'd you bring us here? What about Keira? Is this really on the right track? We should have gone through that other way, right? You're not really helping us, are you?! ARE YOU!?" James' face turned red as he screamed into Burly's face. People nearby stopped in their tracks and for the first time noticed the three people who don't look familiar. The crowd gathered around and watched in silence. Arlow and Blair studied the onlookers nervously.

Burly looked solemn and didn't seem surprised by James' outburst in the least. He put a hand on James' shoulder and spoke softly, "The girl is lost, mate. You're going to have to accept this. We're doing what's right for you people. We're keeping you safe." He glanced at Blair whose hand clutched her scar from the Big Sister's attack. Burly continued, "The person who has your friend is extremely powerful. There's nothing we can do." James' face was still red and his eyes were full of tears. He spoke quiet but viciously, "You've known who has her this whole time?" Burly looked down before nodding, "Aye, we know. Come with me. There's someone who'll explain everything."

The three outsiders followed Burly through Arcadia. As they were about to reach what appeared to be the only metal building in the area Burly explained, "That's the town hall of sorts. I'm going to introduce you to one of our leaders around here. Some people call him governor, others call him the mayor." Arlow asked, "What does he prefer to be called?" Burly wore a slight smile as he replied, "Robbie. I'm going to have to explain the situation before I let you in. Shouldn't be long, he probably knows a lot by now." He pointed up to a camera near the entranceway, "Those puppies are scattered all over Rapture, and quite a few are connected to our system. That's how we knew where to find you folks."

After speaking with Aeron, Burly entered the hall leaving the three scientists to discuss their situation. Arlow was scratching his head while glancing up at the camera, "How many cameras do you guys think saw us? How long do you think we've been watched?" James was still flustered from earlier, "I don't care. All I want to know is how long they've known where to find Keira and if they know if she's alright." Blair's brow narrowed, "He said she's lost. What does that even mean? Is she dead? Vanished?" The two men stared at her in silence both afraid to assume the possibilities. The silence was broken when Burly opened the door, "Come in you lot."

The door closed behind them with a heavy echo that carried throughout the room. The hall was lined with about twenty-five metal chairs on each side of the room and with a single chair sitting at the far side from the door. There was nothing fancy about the room itself except for some 1950's era advertisements scattered on the walls. Each advert appeared to be an ad for the different types of plasmid. James pondered the posters briefly before he noticed a man coming up a set of stairs in the far corner of the room. "Welcome," he yelled as he approached the group.

The man was built fairly lanky and wore thin rimmed glasses. He also had a comically bushy beard which upon seeing caused Arlow to wonder about his own stubble that was starting to grow in. When the man approached and put his hand out Arlow appeared lost in thought as he scratched at his chin and wondered about the time. "Ahem," the man cleared his throat to get Arlow's attention, "My name's Robbie stranger." Arlow's daze lifted as he put on a polite smile and shook Rob's hand, "Arlow, sir. I hear you're the boss around here." "Well," Robbie said as he reached his hand out to Blair, "I'm one of the few who still has his wits. I suppose that qualifies me as some kind of leader. And you are?" He leaned close to Blair as he shook her hand. She replied with a quizzical look as she studied the strange man, "Dr. Blair Swanson."

Robbie whistled before stating, "A doctor. Well we got lots of those. What kind of doctor, exactly?" Blair felt a little insulted that her title meant so little but replied, "A marine biologist." The man stood straight up, "Yup, have a lot of those too." He turned to James with an opened hand. James didn't return the favor and wore a stern expression, "What do you know? What can you tell us?" Robbie was caught off guard for a moment then turned to Burly as he pointed at James and asked, "Dr. Enwood?" Burly nodded. "Well," Rob began, "I guess you've had enough of the pleasantries. If you would please, have a seat. I'll explain what I can."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It had only been a couple of hours since the Little Sister had lost her Big Daddy but she showed little sorrow at this point. The little girl even seemed to have grown attached to Jordan as she was wrapped around his leg while he tried to carry on following Becky. "Piggy back ride! I want a piggy back ride!" She squealed with some delight. Jordan huffed as he bent down to pick her up then noted to Becky, "She sure cheered up quickly. Hey?" Becky glanced over her shoulder to see the little girl perched behind Jordan's head. It warmed her in a way that she had grown unfamiliar with. She smiled briefly then turned ahead. "They see the world differently," she explained, "It's kind of like a fairy tale to them. They see dead bodies as fallen angels and Splicers as gallant ladies and gentlemen."

After a moment's silence Jordan asked Becky a question that had been on his mind "Is that how you saw the world?" He felt some guilt but he couldn't hold back the issue. Becky stopped in her tracks and her head bowed towards the ground. She never turned to face Jordan but she said, "Peeking, were you? I didn't really want you to see that." Perched on Jordan's shoulders, the Little Sister hummed quietly to herself as he approached Becky. With one hand holding the little girls leg, he placed the other on Becky's shoulder. "It's okay I didn't really see anything; just the needle. I recognized it. It was just like the one this little squirt used before." The Little Sister grimaced a little at hearing the name "squirt" but went back to humming.

The trio had just entered the factory area where the crew before them had killed the Houdini Splicer. Jordan glanced briefly at the body as they made their way to the upper catwalk. Once at the top of the stairs Becky turned to Jordan and leaned against a railing. She began to open up to him, "I was seven when I came to Rapture. I was with my mother. She was a genius botanist of some kind and that got us a gold ticket to the big show. I don't remember much about her. I was taken before I turned eight and was put into the Gatherers Program. They turned me into a Gatherer just like her." Becky nodded towards the Little Sister who appeared bored as she slumped to the floor cross-legged.

"Wait if your mom was brought here when they were still building this place; you must be…" Becky cut Jordan off to save him the math, "Seventy-one." Jordan's eyes grew wide. Becky explained, "The ADAM I was exposed to made me age a little slower." Jordan looked Becky up and down, "A little!? You don't really look a day over thirty! I mean I never thought I'd be a cougar chaser… But wow!" Becky blushed a little then commented, "The way you were chasing this Keira made me sure I wouldn't have to worry about you flirting with me." Jordan took a step back and almost reacted defensively but instead he told her, "I've only known Keira a short time; a week and a half or so. I'm not trying so hard to find her cause of some crush. Just… trying to do what's right. She's scared and alone down here."

Becky studied him as he stared at the Little Sister on the floor. At first Becky felt some compassion towards the outsider but after giving her head a shake she stated, "It's dangerous having that level of humanity down here. You'll just get yourself killed." Jordan was about to contest Becky's comment but the Little Sister started to pull on his hand, "Mr. Groom. I want some lollies and toffees! Can we get some please?" Jordan sighed heavily before replying, "Sure thing, squirt. We'll see what we can do." He lifted her back onto his shoulders as Becky continued to lead the way.

It wasn't long before they reached the body of the Big Sister at the train station. Becky knelt next to the corpse and gently ran her hand over the Big Sister's eyes, closing the eyelids. "Looks like Burly and the others ran into some trouble. She must have been hungry. They don't usually attack unless a Little Sister is being harmed." Jordan set the Little Sister down and walked up behind Becky. "What is she?" he asked. Becky replied sullenly, "I was like her once; A Big Sister. They're like the Big Daddies. Protectors for the little ones, but after sometime there were fewer Little Sisters. A lot of the Big Sisters went mad, almost ravenous with a hunger for ADAM." Jordan concluded, "And this one made the mistake of trying to drink from our friends…"

The Little Sister was skipping ahead into the tunnel. She seemed undeterred by the darkness as did Becky but Jordan; however, entered with great hesitation. As they got deeper into the shadows Jordan started to lose his way and had to keep his hand to the wall. It wasn't long before he felt something cool damp and wet. He felt something sticky on his hand and held it close to his face to use the one sense he could investigate with, smell. His nose was immediately revolted as his sinuses filled with the scent of blood. "Gah!" he screamed and fell backwards onto his backside. He couldn't see it but Becky rolled her eyes and turned towards him. Jordan felt a hand grip his arm in the darkness and felt a moment of fear until he heard Becky's voice speak out, "I forgot how hopeless you were."

For the rest of the walk through the tunnel Becky lead Jordan by the hand. Unbeknownst to them the Little Sister led the way with a bouquet of seaweed and aquatic plants.


End file.
